Solar PV has experienced an explosion in growth in Ireland over the past few short years.
A combination of high energy costs, falling solar panel prices, grant support, the removal of planning requirements, and a greater understanding of the technology has made solar the most accessible renewable energy for farms, homes and businesses.
With this exponential growth has come opportunity, and one homegrown Irish company has capitalised on it.
The Irish Farmers Journal recently sat down with Activ8 Solar Energies founder and CEO, Ciaran Marron, for the Down to Agribusiness podcast at the company’s headquarters in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.
Marron, the 2023 EY Established Entrepreneur of the Year, spoke about the company’s journey and the growth of the Irish solar industry.
Early days
When Ciaran Marron established Activ8 Solar Energies in 2006, solar technology was far from mainstream in Ireland. Marron recalls that many questioned whether solar would ever gain traction.
“I got into solar thermal in the early days and definitely my friends and family were all laughing at it, everyone saying it’s not sunny enough, but we soon proved that wrong,” he says.
Within 18 months, Activ8 had become the country’s largest installer of solar thermal systems. However, the business later shifted its focus to solar PV as the market developed. Marron says the company began installing solar PV in Northern Ireland in 2012 supported by incentive schemes, before residential grants were introduced in the Republic in 2018.
“When the market in Ireland announced initiatives in 2018 for solar PV grants for the residential sector, we were all ready to hit the ground running,” he says.
At that stage there were seven registered solar PV installers in Ireland. Today, Marron says there are more than 500.
Growth
The company now employs more than 300 people and operates from its headquarters in Carrickmacross alongside locations in Naas, Cashel and Ballinasloe.
Marron says the business expects to complete almost 3,500 residential solar installations this year, alongside approximately 30MW of commercial rooftop solar projects across the island of Ireland and a further 5MW to 6MW across the UK and Europe.
The company expanded beyond solar installation in recent years, acquiring heat pump business Allbright in 2023 and UK commercial solar company Low Carbon Energy last year, which has since been rebranded as Activ8.
Turning point
One of the defining moments discussed during the interview was the company’s work on the SSE Arena rooftop project in Belfast in 2017, then the largest rooftop solar installation in Ireland.
Competing against larger UK contractors, Marron says Activ8 secured the contract after giving the client a guarantee.
“I met with SSE and said, ‘Look, I’ll put my money where my mouth is. If I don’t deliver this on time, you don’t need to pay me at all.’” The project was completed on schedule and, according to Marron, helped establish Activ8 as a major commercial installer. Within a year, SSE invested in the company and eventually acquired a 50% shareholding.
Innovation
Innovation is another recurring theme throughout the interview. Rather than relying solely on standard products, Marron explains that Activ8 now only uses its own Atlas-branded glass – glass solar panels, working with one of the world’s largest manufacturers to produce panels in China to the company’s own requirements.
“We created the recipe of what we wanted,” he says. Those specifications include panel dimensions, corrosion resistance and product design aimed at maximising rooftop space.
The company has also developed its own Atlas AI software, which analyses a home’s electricity usage and determines when batteries should charge or discharge, when electricity should be exported to the grid and how customers can maximise returns under dynamic electricity tariffs.
The company are near 50:50 on residential and commercial rooftop instaillations, including agrifood processors. The company’s latest job includes Mannok’s manufacturing site, which will be Ireland’s largest rooftop solar installation.
The 6MW project will involve approximately 10,000 solar panels installed across two rooftops and is being delivered through a power purchase agreement, under which Activ8 funds the installation and maintenance while the Mannok purchases the electricity generated over a 15-year period.
Future
Looking ahead, Marron believes there is still significant room for growth in Ireland’s solar market. “We’ve about 15% of rooftops in Ireland that are capable of being done completed,” he says.
He also said commercial battery storage, AI and energy trading as areas likely to shape the next phase of the business.
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